And the Schwag Award Goes To…
Someone told me today that the word “schwag” came from the name for the bag that thieves used to carry their stolen booty in days of yore. Of course, Google thinks it is bad marijuana so don’t quote me on that.
Regardless, anyone at ad:tech who came within 50 feet of the exhibit hall soon becomes very familiar with this term. If you’ve ever seen those videos of people scrambling over each other at a Walmart midnight opening the day after Thanksgiving, then you’ll understand the seriousness with which some people scour the exhibit floor for tchotchkes.
Now, before you head out tomorrow to get you some of that, let us guide you to the real gems. Fellow blogger Brad Waller and I searched to find the best and brightest goods from all over the hall today. And now, we present them to you.
After gathering the goods we recruited an expert panel of judges, who all happened to be in the press room at that exact moment, to determine The Top Five Tchotchkes of AdTech 2007. So, without further adieu here are the results:
#5 - Google’s glow ball.
Ok, we’ve all seen rubber balls that glow when you bounce them, right? But, this thing really, really glows. Enough to mesmerize the judges and thereby win this moment of glory. I hate to break this to you, but they are all gone now though. All but this one carried by a not-very-fast kid. Sorry buddy.
#4 - LeadPile’s Photo Frame
Now, this was a quality issue. Look at that thing. It’s shiny. And heavy too. That impressed the judges quite a bit. If it didn’t say “LeadPile.com” on it I might actually put a picture in it. In fact, this is so nice we weren’t entirely sure it was a give away. But, into the bag it went. We’ve got Schwag to judge here people.
#3 - The Red Dot CMS 8’ Retractable Ethernet Cable
Ok, similar to the phone version we’ve all seen in the past, but this one is Ethernet. That’s cool right? Oh, it’s not? Well our judges thought it was, so you’re wrong. I think it has something to do with the feel of it unrolling, then snapping right back in your hand. It is satisfying.
#2 - DoubleClick’s iPod Speakers
That’s right, iPod speakers! As a give away. Those guys are so loaded right now they just can’t give it away fast enough! Well, thank you very much, we were all very impressed. And you know, you just missed #1 by the thinnest of margins.
But, the numbers don’t lie, and the number one is….
#1 - Think Partnership’s Little-Magnetic-Wire-Cat-Kind-of-Thing
Ok, it small but kind of cute. It sticks to metal. You can bend it all around. One of our fellow bloggers, I won’t mention his name, looked and this little guy and just fell in love. “I can see that sitting on my desk every day.” And, guess what? Mike wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Other judges loved it too.
So, that’s it. Congratulations to all our winners. If you think there were others that were perhaps more deserving just remember: we’re the judges here.
